Todd Rosenbluth

Todd Rosenbluth is a 20-plus year ETF industry veteran who started his career as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley before moving into research at Value Line, then S&P Global, and later CFRA. In March 2022, he joined what is now VettaFi (formerly ETF Trends and ETF Database), which was recently acquired by the TMX Group, a major global financial services company based in Canada. Todd kicks off Season 2 of Behind the Ticker with a deep dive into the Exchange ETF conference, the state of the ETF industry in 2024, and what new issuers need to know about getting distribution.

What VettaFi Actually Does

VettaFi describes itself as an ETF services company built on four pillars. First: webcasts. They run several each week, moderating conversations between asset managers and engaged audiences of financial advisors. Second: content, covering actively managed products, fixed income, smart beta, and thematic strategies across ETF Trends and ETF Database. Third: data and analytics. They track who visits their platform, who attends webcasts, and they've built the infrastructure to show an asset manager whether an advisor who attended a virtual event went to look at their product or a competitor's product afterward. That last capability is powerful: it turns educational events into measurable distribution tools. Fourth: live events, most prominently the Exchange ETF conference.

The Exchange Conference

Exchange brings roughly 2,000 people together in Miami at the Fontainebleau hotel. The 2024 conference added more advisor-focused programming, including three hours of training with Carson Coaching and up to ten hours of continuing education credit. They run two tracks: one on advisor best practices, the other featuring industry expertise on market trends. Todd highlights that they intentionally leave long networking windows, with 90 minutes to two hours for lunch so attendees can set meetings, visit booths, and connect organically.

Planning starts roughly in April or May of the prior year, with speaker outreach beginning early to lock calendars for people like Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report. The 2024 lineup included Dr. David Kelly of JP Morgan, Jeff Gundlach of DoubleLine, and an Eric Balchunas-moderated Bitcoin panel featuring Galaxy, Grayscale, and Bitwise on stage together. There are also community service events, including a walk for breast cancer research with the Coleman Foundation.

2024 ETF Trends: Active and Conversions

Todd expects continued explosive growth in actively managed ETFs. In 2023, roughly a quarter of overall ETF flows went to active products, and close to three-quarters of new ETF launches were actively managed (with some caveats around buffer and defined outcome products that are technically active due to their use of options). He highlights Morgan Stanley expanding their ETF lineup alongside continued success from T. Rowe Price, Capital Group, Dimensional, and JP Morgan.

He also flags the SMA-to-ETF conversion trend as an accelerating force. One recent conversion brought over $700 million into an ETF structure in a single move, driven by the vehicle's tax efficiency advantages. Todd sees this becoming a regular occurrence as more money managers realize they can offer the same strategy in a more tax-efficient wrapper without disrupting the investment process.

On Bitcoin, Todd admits relief that the approval saga is over, noting he kept pointing to February as the timeline and was slightly less realistic about all products launching on day one. He's quick to contextualize: Bitcoin ETFs are great for the industry's visibility, but there are 3,000 other products that deserve attention, and at most Bitcoin will make up a couple percentage points of any portfolio.

Advice for New Issuers

Todd's advice to new ETF issuers is blunt: the focus tends to be on launch day and getting initial media coverage, but then ongoing engagement drops off. He points out that VettaFi covers 3,000-plus ETFs and he needs to know about your product to write about it. "Help us help you by staying in front of the people that are talking about ETFs on a regular basis," he says. Once investors embrace ETFs, they're likely to buy a second, third, fourth, and fifth, so the entire industry benefits from greater education and awareness.

Key Takeaways

• Exchange ETF 2024 drew roughly 2,000 attendees to Miami with over 100 asset manager partners, up to 10 hours of CE credit, and a lineup including Jeff Gundlach and a live Bitcoin panel.
• In 2023, roughly 25% of ETF flows went to actively managed products, and close to 75% of new launches were active, signaling a structural shift in the industry.
• Todd expects SMA-to-ETF conversions to accelerate, citing a recent $700M+ conversion driven purely by tax efficiency advantages of the ETF wrapper.
• VettaFi tracks advisor behavior after webcasts, showing asset managers whether attendees looked at their product or a competitor's afterward.
• Todd's biggest advice for new issuers: don't stop marketing after launch day. Stay consistently in front of the people writing about and recommending ETFs.

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.